In order to create a spirit of cooperation in our world it is
essential to create a greater level of understanding among the peoples
of the world, and to combat ideas of racism and intolerance.
We believe that it is vital to study of history, religion and culture
from a global point of view. This is why we have launched our
Global Education Project.

We have spent a considerable amount of time assembling what we
believe are among the highest quality links and texts that are available
on these subjects. We provide these links in the hope that study
of them will encourage tolerance and understanding between the world's
religions and cultures. Many of the links provided here are in
languages other than English. Foreign language links have been
included in an effort to help people from all over the world
understand each others' cultures.

A link to translation web sites has also been provided so that
English-only speakers can explore our foreign language links.
These translation sites can also be used by non-English speakers to read
the content of sites that are exclusively in English.

LOOKING BEYOND A "WEST IS BEST" VIEW OF HISTORY

It has been said that history is the past as seen by the
present. This is a dangerous point of view. Time is a great
judge of reality. It is critical that we do not get distracted by
potentially short term events in making judgments about the
past. The current dominance of the world by the West is a very short term event.
Maybe it is a "New Order". However, this idea has not been tested
by time, and as is noted in our study of global indicators
(see the Global Indicators Project), the current "New Order" is a house of cards that cannot continue into the future without drastic changes.

Unfortunately, until recently the teaching of history,
religion, and philosophy in the West (particularly in the United States)
has displayed a dangerous ignorance of non-western history, leading to
delusions about the role of the West in world history. Our goal to
take an impartial look at the past and place the West within a global
perspective.

Of particular relevance to our study is the connection between the ancient East and West.
There is significant evidence that classical Greece was very much an
ideological melting pot for ideas from the East and the West.
There are, for example, amazing similarities between many of Plato's
teachings and ancient Indian philosophy. According to
Herodotus, Indian troops participated in the invasion of Greece.
The Persian Empire, which stretched from the Indus River in the east to
the Mediterranean Ocean in the west (see our Map of the Persian Empire),
played an immensely important role as a geopolitical and cultural
bridge from Asia to Europe. In seeing Greek culture as a fusion of
eastern and western thought people can gain a greater respect for
non-western visions of politics and culture.

Examples of commercial interchange between the East and
the West also abound. The Silk Road was opened in the Third
Century B.C.. The monsoon winds were discovered at about the same
time, leading to a huge expansion of trade between Alexandria, the
intellectual capital of the Hellenistic Greek world, and India and China
(see our Map of Hellenistic World). Cleopatra herself dressed in Chinese silks.

THE ROLE OF AMERICA IN TODAY'S WORLD: THE LESSONS OF HISTORY

The importance of East-West relations is no less
significant today, particularly in the United States. America can
play a crucial, positive role in today's world if it sees the
multicultural nature of its people as an asset and not a liability.
As a truly "world state" in terms of its inhabitants, the United States
can serve as an example for people of different faiths and cultures
living together in peace. Unfortunately, there are forces in the United
States that want to impose their vision of one "American" culture and
faith on the nation and the world. Paradoxically, the "religious"
advocates of this point of view contain groups like the Assemblies of
God, whose "Christian" theological vision only appeared in the last
century.

America needs to learn from the political and religious
evolution of ancient Greece as it moved from the Classical era to the
Hellenistic era. Before the geopolitical revolution of Alexander
the Great, Greece was a small collection of city states. After
Alexander unified Greece politically, it became a global force in
politics and culture. As it expanded, it incorporated good ideas
from the new lands that it ruled.

In modern-day America, people need to learn more about
other cultures and incorporate their good ideas in a global vision of
religion and philosophy. This will not be an easy task. But
America could use its nature as a multi-ethnic state to show the world
how people can work together.

SUPPORT FOR UNDERSTANDING AND TOLERANCE

In order to build a lasting peace, vengeance cannot supersede
justice. Below are examples where tolerance and peace triumphed over
vengeance.

WORLD FUTURE FUND ARTICLES: PROMOTING A BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF WORLD CULTURES AND RELIGIONS

THE DESTRUCTION OF SLAVERY ON AFRICAN CULTURE

The destruction that slavery has wrought on the African
continent has been drastically underestimated. Unlike other continents
of the world, there was no population growth in Africa during the entire
period of the trans-atlantic slave trade. We also believe reparations
are in order for America's African American community.

Many of the resources we list on our site are in foreign
languages. In order to make these texts accessible to as many
readers as possible we have also created a list of the best translation web sites.